Sign In
Free Newsletter
Opinions: Court of Special Appeals – 6/13/11
Criminal Procedure Probable cause BOTTOM LINE: Where police officers did not have probable cause to believe that defendant was in possession of controlled substances or drug paraphernalia found in a lockbox in an apartment he was visiting, the trial court erred in denying defendant’s motion to suppress. CASE: Belote v. State, No. 2633, Sept.Term 2009 […]
Law digest: 6/6/11
MARYLAND COURT OF APPEALS Criminal Law, Escape: The defendants’ convictions for second-degree escape were legally valid even though the convictions were predicated on their failure to obey a court order was legally invalid. Hill, et al. v. State, No. 93, Sept. Term, 2010. RecordFax No. 11-0523-20. Criminal Procedure, Sentencing: Where defendant’s original sentence was increased […]
Opinions – Maryland Court of Special Appeals: 6/6/11
Criminal Procedure Coram nobis relief BOTTOM LINE: Where the defendant was advised of his right to file leave to appeal and did not exercise that right, the defendant waived any claim for coram nobis relief. CASE: State v. Castellon-Gutierrez, No. 931, Sept. Term, 2010 (filed April 29, 2011) (Judges WOODWARD, Zarnoch & Watts). RecordFax No. […]
Opinions – Maryland Court of Appeals: 5/31/11
MARYLAND COURT OF APPEALS Criminal Law Transferred intent BOTTOM LINE: The doctrine of transferred intent applied to defendant’s shooting of an unintended victim, and thus defendant could be liable for second-degree murder of the unintended victim as well as the intended victim. CASE: Henry v. State, No. 47, Sept. Term, 2009 (filed May 6, 2011) […]
Pretrial motions don’t count against Speedy Trial deadline
WASHINGTON — The days that courts spend dealing with pretrial motions do not use up any of the government’s time under the Speedy Trial Act, the Supreme Court held Thursday. Despite that, the court refused to reinstate Jason Louis Tinklenberg’s convictions of gun possession by a felon and possession of material used to manufacture methamphetamine. […]
Opinions – 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals: 5/23/11
Criminal Procedure Tax fraud BOTTOM LINE: Where, in criminal tax prosecution, district court judge made repeated references to guilty pleas entered by defendant’s associates, references constituted trial error because pleas were not in evidence, but, since error was harmless, judgment of the district court was affirmed. CASE: United States v. Poole, No. 09-5128 (decided May […]
Opinions – Court of Special Appeals: 4/18/11
Contract Law Guarantor BOTTOM LINE: Where managing member of professional limited liability company signed as guarantor of a credit agreement between the company and the lender, the clear language of the agreement showed that the guaranty was made in a personal, rather than representative, capacity, and the member was therefore personally liable on the account. […]
Law digest: 4/18/11
Contract Law, Guarantor: Where managing member of professional limited liability company signed as guarantor of a credit agreement between the company and the lender, the clear language of the agreement showed that the guaranty was made in a personal, rather than representative, capacity, and the member was therefore personally liable on the account. Ubom v. […]
Opinions – Maryland Court of Appeals: 4/4/11
Civil Procedure Joinder BOTTOM LINE: The trial court, in a prior wrongful death action brought by decedent’s widow and children from second marriage, could not approve a settlement without the inclusion of decedent’s children from first marriage as plaintiffs; therefore, the trial court, in the subsequent action brought by the children from the first marriage, […]
Opinions – U.S. District Court, Maryland: 4/4/11
Criminal Procedure Grand jury instructions BOTTOM LINE: Where grand jury was improperly instructed that the acting-on-advice-of-counsel defense was irrelevant at the charging stage of the proceeding, there was grave doubt that the grand jury’s decision to indict was free from the substantial influence of the erroneous legal instruction. CASE: United States v. Stevens, No. RWT […]
Opinions – Court of Special Appeals: 3/21/11
Civil Procedure Denial of appeal BOTTOM LINE: The Court of Special Appeals did not have jurisdiction to hear a defendant’s appeal because the circuit court’s default judgment was not a final judgment and because the defendant’s pursuit of in banc review precluded appeal to the Court of Special Appeals. CASE: Bethesda Title & Escrow LLC […]
Law digest: 3/21/11
MARYLAND COURT OF APPEALS Civil Procedure, Continuance of trial: Trial court abused its discretion in denying a continuance of trial in order to accommodate plaintiff’s religious beliefs, which prohibited any appearance or advocacy on his behalf during a particular religious holiday that occurred in the midst of trial. Neustadter v. Holy Cross Hospital of Silver […]
